Quantel Acquires Snell, Creates New Major Player on Broadcast-Tech Landscape

In a move that instantly creates a broadcast-technology behemoth spanning both the live and postproduction ecosystems, Quantel announced today that it has acquired Snell. The combination of Quantel, a provider of news- and sports-production and postproduction systems, and Snell — which provides a range of solutions for live TV production and the creation, management, and distribution of content for TV Everywhere on tablets, mobile devices, and the Web — represents total revenues of more than $170 million and allows the new entity to offer a complete product range to create, version, and deliver content efficiently across multiple platforms. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

“This acquisition brings two great companies together to create a major new force in the global broadcast- and media-technology market. This will enable us to better serve Quantel and Snell customers around the globe,” Ray Cross, executive chairman/CEO, Quantel, said in an announcement. “Our product ranges are entirely complementary so the excellent Snell and Quantel brands and product ranges will continue. We’ll be able to combine the best-in-class talent and technologies from Quantel and Snell to bring exciting new products and solutions to market to help our customers transform their businesses. More local offices across the world will enable us to build closer relationships with our customers and to offer even better support.”

According Quantel’s announcement, “the new business has the scale, talent, and IP to achieve even greater success in the competitive global media-technology market.” The newly combined company, which boasts 16 global offices, will be located at a new facility at the Quantel headquarters in Newbury, Berkshire, UK.

Under terms of the new deal, Paul Martin, managing director of the Snell TV Everywhere division, and Robert Rowe, managing director of the Snell Live TV division, will join the Quantel board. Snell Sales Director Tim Banks and Finance Director Peter Fredericks will also take on new executive roles in the combined organization.

“I’m really delighted that the Snell and Quantel businesses have come together to increase the scale and scope for both,” said Simon Derry, outgoing CEO at Snell. “Under Ray’s leadership, the combined business will be able to write a new and exciting chapter moving forward. I look forward to supporting Ray during the important period of transition.”

Cross added, “We will be creating a new world-class facility at the company headquarters in Newbury to produce the complete Quantel and Snell product range, and we look forward to the new ideas generated when the two R&D teams start to interact.”